In these days of uncertainty, there’s only one thing certain: We all have to eat. Rich or poor, young or old, we all need sustenance. Where to get it is the challenge.

Somehow, by the grace of God, and with a combination of luck, resourcefulness and outside help, I’ve been able to find our daily sustenance. A garden that yields fruits and vegetables, a freezer to store meat and seafood, some culinary skills—and voila! We have a meal.

Thanks to thoughtful daughters who have managed to send us gift packs from their own corners of the world, we’ve even enjoyed occasional luxuries: Norwegian salmon fillet, Angus beef steaks, fresh watermelons and strawberries, and the latest arrival, French butter chocolate chunk cookies.

We also occasionally rely on meal deliveries, since movement is very limited these days. Here’s a brief list of the restaurants that have been our reliable lifelines:

Via Mare

As soon as this favorite restaurant announced that it was accepting orders for food delivery, I dialed its number. The order taker was friendly and efficient. The food would be delivered within an hour, he said, and payment could be cash on delivery. True enough, by 12 noon, a van arrived to bring pancit luglog (a Via Mare specialty), tokwa’t baboy, puto and bibingka. To meet the minimum order of P3,000, I also ordered kare-kare, for the next day’s meal. All the dishes came still hot and professionally wrapped, and as delicious as they’ve always been served in their restaurant. What a treat.

Tel. 88908090, 88908023

Oh My Lugaw

If lugaw is your comfort food, you mustn’t miss this. Its lugaw is rich and flavorful, rendered an appetizing golden yellow color with the use of luyang dilaw. Prices range from a mere P25 for a bowl of regular lugaw to P85 for a bowl of special lugaw con baka. There’s also chicken arroz caldo (P50/regular; P75/special). Add-ons include tokwa’t baboy (P70), lechon kawali (P100-and hard-boiled egg (P20).

Each bowl of lugaw comes with calamansi and chopped green onions, but you can order extra helpings of these, as well as chopped fried garlic to make your lugaw even tastier than it already is. A friend who ordered from them said the lugaw really made their day. It makes my day, too, whenever we have Oh My Lugaw delivered.

Tel. 0917-8335159, 0995-550-0708

Di’Mark’s Pizza

I remember when Di’Mark’s was the only restaurant in town that served pizza. Surprise! Di’Marks is still around. And it has modernized its menu with new offerings, including roasted garlic and shrimp pizza, and pizza with all 22 toppings. We usually order the Mad Scramble, its bestseller with toppings of Italian sausage meat, pepperoni, black and green olives, mushrooms, chicken, tomatoes and green pepper. At a time some restaurants are hard pressed to deliver, it’s surprisingly easy to order from Di’Mark’s.Tel. 84040683, 85255354 or order through Food Panda.

Tenya

Because it has a branch right in our neighborhood, Tenya can easily deliver the Japanese dishes it’s built its name on. Its menu includes an assortment of tempura baskets, classic tendon (prawn, squid, green beans, sweet potato and rice), ramen and chicken karaage.

Order through Food Panda.

Conrad Manila

On the higher end, hotels such as Conrad Manila are offering their special signature dishes for takeaway. Conrad’s Brasserie on 3 accepts orders for oven-roasted chicken set, roasted Norwegian salmon, and beef and mushroom truffle casserole. Its China Blue by Jereme Leung has sautéed prawns with XO sauce and steamed truffle mushroom buns. Available for preorder and pick up daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Tel. 0917-6504043; Facebook.com/ConradManilaPh

A Mano

This casual dining restaurant has been rated the best new Italian restaurant in town, and lucky for us, it now delivers, with just a simple phone call. We ordered the classic Pizza Margherita con Bufala and even though it had to travel from its Rockwell location to our house, the pizza still arrived hot and fresh. It was heavenly, with the melted cheese spreading its golden, mellow flavor all over the tomato sauce and the extra-virgin olive oil. Next time we’ll perhaps order their Pollo al Burro, Tuscan butter chicken with rosemary, or their Ragu pasta with Parmigiano Reggiano.

Tel. 0917-5526266